Hello Vegan friends! Along with a few partners, I am working to build a large full spectrum vegan supermarket- VegCo - that includes a huge fresh produce section (all organically/naturally grown), meat alternatives, dairy alternatives, grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, oils- if it is plant based and nutritious, we will carry it! We will also have a large vegan deli and bakery.

In order to fully fund this project, we need to prove to our investor group that there is huge demand for an ethical grocery venue. Please support us by "Liking" us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/VegCoMarket

We are still designing this market and we want to build it so that it serves the vegan community's needs, but also draws people who are not vegan in, so that they can see how incredibly varied and delicious plant based foods are. Please leave any suggestions here as to what you would include in your ideal vegan supermarket. Products you love, recipes you love, and anything else that would be important to you when shopping! Thanks for your help!

I "liked" your page. Hope you can eventually move into Detroit. If I were opening a vegan supermarket, I'd want to support some awesome vegan companies like Chicago SoyDairy (Dandies, Teese) and Field Roast (sausages, celebration roast). Before I was vegan, I had a cookie dough milk shake at the Chicago Diner which blew my mind and made me think, hey, maybe someday I could be vegan! So I think a milkshake bar might be cool. Also, vegan pizza. Basically, things vegans will love and be stoked about, and things that will defy the stereotype that we subsist on twigs and grass, thus drawing in the non-vegans! I wish you all the best and I think your vegan activism rocks.

Thank you so much for your feedback and for Liking the page! I will definitely look into the products you suggested because we certainly want to support lots of vegan companies big and small. We will have to develop some delicious milkshakes. What is your favorite milk alternative? I like almond milk for the flavor, and hemp milk for the nutritional profile (but it tastes a bit strange). We will carry some soy products, but I also want to show vegans and non-vegans alike that there are so many options for us to eat beyond just soy. We will probably make a variety of different pizzas using some of the "cheeses" in the UnCheese Cookbook.

Oatly make my favourite milk and they do wonderful pouring cream as well (I loved it when I tried it before thinking about going veg). Don't know how available it is where you are, though.

Will you be doing all food items or some things like laundry soap, washing up liquid, dishcloths, toilet paper etc? What about some vegan wines and beers?

I expect making sure you have some cheaper products, not just "hand-picked by monks rare mountain berries" sort of thing, will be good. And having accidentally vegan products that are recognisable/mainstream could be good for making non-vegan customers feel at home. Obviously supporting small, all-vegan businesses is important too though.

I suggest you sell sorbet, ice cream and fruity ice lollies. And other desserts.

_________________An unprocessed chicken is walking around and clucking to itself. And yes, I think they're healthier that way too. - Tofulish

Thank you all for such wonderful suggestions! I am a fan of all things coconut (coconut milk, water, flakes, butter), but I had never heard of coconut vinegar. I am going to note down all of these products and contact the manufacturers. If you have any other comments, you are also welcome to post on our Facebook page www.facebook.com/vegcomarket

This sounds awesome! I would make sure to have less healthy stuff too, like cookies! Oreos and chiccosticks and peanut chews would be awesome. Definitely nutritional yeast. Flax seed. Weird flours. Also, purses and wallets, if you are having other stuff.

Cake decorations! Like sprinkles and coloured sugar and silver balls and hundreds 'n' thousands. Almost all the cake decorating stuff seems to have shellac and beeswax and carmine. And if it doesn't it has egg white or gelatine (who wants soft silver balls anyway? They're supposed to be crunchy. Stupid nearby shops selling only the soft gelatiney ones).

_________________An unprocessed chicken is walking around and clucking to itself. And yes, I think they're healthier that way too. - Tofulish

I'm unsure of the legal jargon that comes along with importing foods, but I think it would be rockin' if you could navigate that and import some vegan items that are not widely available in the US (cheezly, UK Starburst, bourbon cream cookies, items from the vegetarian butcher, Vietnamese/Chinese/Indian meat alternatives, etc.)

A small pharmacy section would be nice too. I'm not just talking about the usual vitamins and herbs that health food stores generally carry, but maybe doing some homework and seeing if any generic asprin/pepto-bismol/benadryl/tylenol/etc. are vegan and come from companies that don't do animal testing? It might not be possible to find those things, but it's worth a shot? You should also have some other hard-to-find vegan pharmacy/personal care items... condoms, menstrual products, band-aids, lubricants, razors, toothbrushes...

Another idea would be how you advertise/brand it. It won't just be good for vegans, but could be a huge hit for people with dairy or egg allergies, especially for things like cheese and junk foods. I've talked to a lot of parents whose children have such allergies, and they are always super grateful when they can treat their kids to the "normal" treats that most other kids get- making a cheesy daiya pizza or going to a vegan ice cream shop, for example. Branch out with your branding!